The Moon Rises (33 page)

“Can I kill the monster then?”

“If you can find it and figure out a way to kill
it, go ahead, but you won’t do either, so I’m not too worried.”

Sliding off the bed, Gigi stretched. “I feel all
better. How do you do that?”

Daniel frowned and stepped back. “I’d prefer if
you took a nap and rested a bit.”

“Why?  I feel fine now.”

“I don’t want you to try to follow me.”

“Why would I? I don’t even know you.”

Daniel frowned darkly at her. “Did you really
want to be a vampire?”

“Yes, I like Simon.”

“Liking someone isn’t a good reason to have them
turn you into a vampire.”

“I’m lonely. You took away my mamma and my
memories and left me here. I have to make a life and the Weres are giving me
blue balls and my best friend was taken by a monster. I want to be happy and
spending time with Simon makes me happy.”

“Find another way to feel happy,” Daniel said,
taking her hand and pulling her back to the bed. “Get a hobby.”

“I play poker. That’s a hobby,” Gigi said as he
pushed her to lie down. “Hunting the monster will be another hobby.”

“Please stay away from the monster.”

“Do you know the name of the ghost who follows me
around?”

“Her name is Millicent, but you can’t speak to
her.”

“Maybe I’ll find a way? Will you let me remember
her name?”

“Go to sleep.”

“No.”

Daniel grinned at her. “That wasn’t a suggestion,
sunshine.”

Gigi started to protest, but Daniel’s fingers
grazed her forehead and she awoke the next day to a sunlit room. She remembered
how someone was in the room with her the night before, but the specifics were
blocked. Sitting up, she found the kittens on the bed with her. They were staring
at the ghost who sat in a nearby chair.

“Did a Vamp try to eat me last night, Millicent?”
Gigi asked.

Millicent nodded as she combed her long white
hair.

“Did you fix me?”

Millicent shook her head.

“Do you want to help me find a monster?”

Millicent stopped brushing her hair and scowled.
Instead of answering, she disappeared from the room. The kittens stood up when
the ghost left and their little faces turned to Gigi.

Gigi groaned as she climbed out of bed. “I wish
you guys could talk and tell me what the hell is going on.”

Gigi called Silas to tell him she was alive. He
sounded incredibly relieved and a little irritated. When she asked if he was
mad at her, he sighed like he always did when she annoyed him with questions he
didn’t feel he should have to answer.

Silas said he would let the others know she was
okay and then hung up.  Gigi decided to start her day by stopping by Anton’s
office. She wanted to thank him for calming Simon the night before.

Anton quickly took her into his office and pulled
her into a really great hug. With his arms around her, Gigi felt like nothing
ugly existed in the world. His hug didn’t last long and the real world returned.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Anton said, gazing at her
with his beautiful dark eyes.

“Are you going to kiss me?” Gigi asked, feeling
bold because bold worked well with Simon.

Anton smiled slightly then his lips found hers.
Gigi didn’t know why she wanted Anton so much. When he touched her, she felt
warm in a way she hungered for always. It wasn’t just lust like with Declan,
but something deeper and she wanted Anton to keep touching her. Yet he always
pulled away and today was no exception.

One minute his arms were wrapped around her and
his lips soft on hers, even as his tongue tasted her hungrily. The next minute,
he stepped back and took a deep breath, looking frustrated as he ran his hands
through his thick brown hair. Gigi wasn’t sure if Anton was giving himself blue
balls, but she knew he was irritating the hell out of her.

“Do you know where Simon lives?” Gigi asked
before leaving his office.

“Why?”

Gigi frowned. “I want to show him I’m okay. I
know he’ll be worried.”

Anton shared her frown. “He lives on the outer
ridge of the Circle where most of the Vamps live.”

“Do you have his address? I can put it into my
GPS.”

“No, I don’t,” Anton said and Gigi knew he was
lying.

“Okay. I’ll ask Michael. He knows stuff.”

Anton started to say something, but Gigi opened
the door and he thought better of it. Walking into the main office, she said
goodbye to the others and rubbed Melanie’s bump which kicked her in response.

Gigi sensed Anton watching her and she also
sensed he didn’t want her to visit Simon. The Were was always teasing her and
she was starting to find him more frustrating than enjoyable to be around.

Michael did know Simon’s address and he gave it
to her because he still felt guilty about her almost dying.

Simon’s house was huge and Gigi had to go through
a gate to get to it, but only after telling an angry voice who she was. Once
she parked, Gigi stared up at the balcony above the circular drive. His house
was very white and it looked old, yet not rundown like some of the houses she
saw on the way. This house was beautiful and she imagined living in it with
Simon, even though that apparently was no longer an option.

The front door opened and a woman with blonde
hair pulled into a tight bun and sharp blue eyes studied Gigi.

“He is waiting for you.”

Gigi nodded, ignoring the woman’s stern manner since
she figured being a human surrounded by Vamps couldn’t be fun. Following the
woman into a large dark room, Gigi suddenly found herself alone once the
assistant shut the double doors. The lighting was too murky to see much, but
then Simon appeared.

“Anton was right,” Simon said quietly. “I owe him
a chew toy.”

Gigi wanted to respond, but his lips were on hers
and they were more eager than his kisses from before. With one hand at the
small of her back and the other in her hair, Simon pulled her against him.
Immediately forgetting about Vamp rules, she slid her hands around him and
realized only a silky robe kept his bare body from her.

The thought of him nude made her even forget about
how her blood would kill him. She wasn’t interested in being bitten as much as
being loved anyway. Could with time Simon love her? Yet like the Weres, he
pulled away - right when she was getting comfortable.

“Lawrence was my problem. I should have dealt
with him sooner. I apologize.”

“No, I’m glad it happened.”

Even in the darkness, Gigi could see how Simon
frowned. Her hands were caressing his bare chest as his robe slid open just a
bit further.

“I understand you have a magical friend who can
fix you good as new, but how can you be glad to have Lawrence rip open your chest
and drain you of blood?”

“I wanted to be with you, but if you had bitten
me, you would have died. I’m glad it was Lawrence instead.”

The room was too dark to see much, but Gigi felt
Simon’s hands leave her then he was gone from her sight. For a moment she
thought he left the room. When she looked hard though, the darkness lightened
and she noticed him in a chair in the corner.

“Do you want me to leave?”

Simon didn’t speak immediately. When he did, his
voice was strange.

“Your blood is toxic to Vamps. No creature I know
of has blood toxic to my kind. I can’t change certain creatures, but I can feed
off any of them. I always assumed a witch tinkered with your mind, but no witch
can heal you the way you’ve been healed twice now. I thought maybe a powerful
sorcerer was behind your situation, possibly using ancient dark magic to heal
you. Yet your blood is tainted in a way I have never heard of before.”

“Did Dahlia tell you what Mira said?” Gigi asked,
stepping closer.

“Yes.”

“The witch doesn’t know what I am.”

“No one does, but the witches will want you now
more than ever. They’ll all want you. If your blood can kill vampires, it could
be twisted into a weapon. You are in more danger now than if Lawrence had
changed you last night.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You apologize for things which are not your
fault. It’s an endearing quality in a human, but I think it’s very clear at
this point how you are not human. Please stop apologizing.”

Simon’s voice still sounded hollow and it took
Gigi a minute to realize he was sad.

“I don’t want anyone to use my blood to hurt
you.”

“And I don’t want you to be harvested so they can
have your blood. I’m not sure how to handle this situation.”

“If everyone thinks I have a powerful sorcerer
protecting me, won’t they be afraid of messing with me?”

“Do you though?”

“I don’t know, but I woke up healed. I don’t know
who did it, but I know my ghost’s name now. Maybe she can help me?”

“Ghosts lie. If your ghost is bound to you by the
will of the sorcerer, she will not aid you unless it is by his order.”

Gigi knelt next to Simon’s chair and his hand
caressed her head.

“I very much wanted to make you my bride.”

“And I really wanted to stay with you.”

“There might still be a way, but you would have
to trust me.”

“I do,” Gigi said and it wasn’t a lie.

“If you give me a sample of your blood, I could
have it tested. Possibly my people can find a way to neutralize whatever is in
your blood that makes it toxic. They might also figure out what you are. Most
importantly, they could find a way to change you so I could still have you as
my bride.”

“You can have my blood.”

Simon sighed. “You are too trusting.”

“I have nothing in particular to live for so
taking risks isn’t very risky.”

Pulling her up and into his lap, Simon held her
against him. “Your guardian does nothing to protect you from harm, but he
heals you. He binds a ghost to you as a spy for him. He is very powerful and is
using you for something, but I can see no purpose. Those walls in your mind and
the healing take a great deal of power, yet what is the point of twisting your
mind and leaving you vulnerable?”

“Maybe I’m just a plaything to him? Maybe there
is no purpose except to keep me somewhere and watch what happens. I worry
though that whoever is doing this to me is the one taking the girls from the
club. I want to track the monster and stop it. If he’s my master, how can I?”

“Track the monster?” Simon said with a faint
smile. “You will have plenty of monsters tracking you soon. We can only hope
your master protects you from them better than he did with Lawrence and the
beast from the alley.”

Gigi studied Simon then caressed his face. “Are
you sad?”

“I’m accustomed to having what I want and I very
much want you. Disappointment isn’t an emotion I’m comfortable with.”

“I wish I could make you happy.”

Simon studied her then frowned darkly. “I could
keep you here with me and hide you from the others, but I do not trust my
minions. They view you as a threat and might think they are doing me a favor by
destroying you. Surrounding you with the enemy might be more dangerous than
letting you stay where you’re at. Besides I’m tempted by you. If I forget in a
moment of passion and bite you, I would die and my minions would kill you in retaliation.
No, keeping you here would not be safe.”

“Should I remain loyal to you when it comes to
the other males? They still like me.”

“Good. They will protect you until I can find a
way to make you my bride.”

Gigi frowned. “Am I with you or not?”

“Not until I can be with you safely. Right now,
our time together could lead to our deaths. You may not think you have anything
to live for, but I disagree. If you were to die because of me, I would spend a
very long time feeling guilty. We can’t have that.”

“No. I don’t want you to feel bad. You’ve been
nice to me. Consistent too.”

“The Weres play their games, but they can’t help
it. Like I said at dinner, they’re immature, just children really. You should
pity them.”

“Oh, I do,” Gigi said with a grin which soon
faded. “I wish I could stay with you.”

“I can still smell your blood and it’s as lovely
as your scent. I don’t know if I could control myself well in your presence. It
is best if you go, but I’m pleased you came to see me.”

Gigi cuddled her head against his shoulder and
sighed. “I feel so lonely all the time. Whenever I try to do something to make
myself less lonely, it doesn’t work. Maybe I’m being punished?”

“I heard you have cats.”

Gigi grinned. “Yes, but they can’t talk to me.
It’s like my ghost. She’s usually around, but she can’t be close. Maybe I did
something bad and loneliness is my punishment?”